Market Research And Indigenous Peoples

Market analysts have several challenges and situations that they face every day in their work. Today at the international level the Day of the Indigenous Peoples was celebrated. This political and social category often arouses passions and intense debates between different groups. Although our segment is usually conceived as far from reflections that include this category, today we want to make an exception and explore some of the opportunities and thoughts derived from this event and that can strengthen the discipline.

As we have mentioned in other posts on our blog, on many occasions market studies are limited exclusively to the largest sectors. This implies working only with the major world languages: English, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese; just to mention a few cases. This situation is not alien to Latin America since the vast majority of all research production that is carried out adheres to this trend.

Likewise, another widespread practice is that various market studies are limited to urban territories. This situation can inhibit analyzing other realities of people outside the cities. Some segments may be more biased by this custom, such as retail and services aimed at the end customer. Directing the studies to the usual sites can make some minorities that also exchange products and services invisible.

Another way of sharing and redistributing what Market Research can offer to all those interested from all the different sciences and disciplines that are in charge of understanding the people who exchange satisfiers necessarily involves including each and every one of the people likely to form part of this activity. This happens to know and add more cultures and languages to our specialty.

We know that for several years now our discipline has had an increasingly large area of social commitment and puts qualitative and quantitative tools and techniques at the service of vulnerable and minority groups. We hope that in the near future people from these communities can join the projects as designers and decision makers and not only as subjects of knowledge and targets of aid programs.

Indigenous peoples have been relegated from various orders of life that others consider everyday and universal. This scenario is reproduced all over the world. The fact that these communities can develop their market projects in their languages and that they consider their habits and customs is far from representing a threat to everything we have achieved to date within the knowledge of Marketing.

Valuing and embracing diversity is a goal to which we should aspire not only in Market Research. A greater and deeper wealth of knowledge and data is waiting for us after taking up the challenge that the Day of the Indigenous Peoples imposes on us. We are aware of this since LATAM is a territory with a large number of peoples with great cultural wealth. We are aware that dates like this August 9 are an opportunity to visualize future scenarios where there is greater integration of all the actors involved in society and the market.

At Acertiva, in addition to carrying out market studies for more than 20 years, we also take breaks to reflect on what we share with our followers, customers and suppliers. Do you have a project that you want to develop in the short term? Contact us today to tell us your needs and we’ll get back to you with how together we can write your next success story.



Detalle de fotografía de artesanía de tejido de fibras vegetales. Imagen de JB en Pixabay. (Español) / Detalhe de fotografia de artesanato em tecelagem de fibras vegetais. Imagem de JB no Pixabay. (Português) / Detail of photograph of handicrafts of vegetable fiber weaving. Image by JB on Pixabay. (English)